The present invention relates to a male-female coupling apparatus and, in particular, to a quick-releasable coupling for a bracket.
Free-standing columns are commonly employed in hospital intensive care units in close proximity to a patient and are adapted to carry lighting, shelving, etc. One form of such a column is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 261,804 issued Nov. 10, 1981 to L. D. Foster et al, and in commonly assigned copending application Ser. No. 06/462,682 filed on Jan. 31, 1983 by Fullenkamp et al.
Such a free-standing column provides certain advantages over conventional wall mounted systems wherein the equipment and services are mounted on the head wall of the room. With wall mounted systems, there usually results a maze of cords and tubing running between the wall and the patient's bed which can restrict access to the patient and can be inadvertently damaged. Such inconveniences are greatly alleviated by a free-standing column which brings the necessary equipment and services into the immediate environment of the patient. The column affords a greater degree of access around the patient's bed and permits more efficient delivery of services to the patient.
The column is capable of supporting a wide variety of equipment and services, thereby rendering the column highly versatile, capable of servicing a wide variety of patients' needs. It is desirable, however, that the equipment be capable of convenient and rapid installation and detachment to accommodate emergency situations as well as to avoid interference with patient accessibility. With previous columns the removal or interchanging of equipment was not as convenient and rapid as would be desired in all cases.
In the above-mentioned Fullenkamp et al application, there is a disclosure of a holder which is slidable along a vertical track of the column and can be affixed at various elevations. The holder carries a removable mounting member, the latter being adapted to carry a piece of equipment. The mounting member includes a tongue having a hollow elastic cylinder which is releasably attachable within a socket of the holder. When the cylinder is compressed, e.g., by a rotary knob, the cylinder expands into frictional gripping relationship with the socket wall. Such a coupling has performed well, but room for improvement remains. In that regard, it has been found that even after the mounting member has been secured within the socket, the mounting arm is still capable of slight tilting movement relative to the holder. That is, when weight is applied to the mounting member (e.g., by placing a piece of medical equipment thereon), the front end of the tongue (i.e., the end opposite the knob) may tend to tilt slightly downwardly within the socket. It would be desirable to minimize the extent to which such tilting can occur.
In addition, there may occur some difficulty in removing the tongue from the holder, due to contact of portions of the plug with the sleeve. That is, portions of the plug when in a relaxed state may not retract radially from the sleeve sufficiently to permit a smooth, unobstructed removal or insertion of the tongue.
It has also been found that a considerable number of rotations of the knob may be necessary to fully expand the plug. This increases the time and overall effort needed to install and remove the mounting member.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to minimize or obviate problems of the type discussed above.
Another object is to minimize the amount of tilting which the tongue can undergo within the sleeve.
A further object is to facilitate a smooth, unobstructed insertion and removal of the tongue relative to the sleeve.
Yet another object is to minimize the number of rotations of the knob necessary to tighten and release the tongue.